Lily looked at the food on the table in disgust. After that poem, she hadn’t felt like eating at all.

Mandy shoved some eggs and some bacon on her plate. “Aren’t you going to have some, too?”

“No,” Lily answered. “I don’t want any.”

Mandy made big eyes. “But you love eggs and bacon!”

“Not today,” Lily muttered.

“What?” Then Mandy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You’re not having an eating disorder, are you?”

“I can assure you that I do not have an eating disorder.” Lily sighed, feeling that honesty was the right thing now. “It just feels as though I’m going to be sick. You know… after that poem.”

Mandy lay down her knife and fork. “Oh, Lily, I understand you. It was sickening and I still can’t believe it. He seemed so nice and caring… and how hurt he looked! And he was so shocked when you told him about that whore-thing. All right, he can be a prat sometimes, as I’ve already said, but I never thought he would act like such a bloody bastard. Merlin, I can go on and on with talking about that Dementor-like, stupid idiot who I thought would be smarter, but I should probably stop now, so I don’t call him things that I’ll regret later.”

“I hate him,” Lily spat.

“No, you don’t! Forget about my little rant which I’m glad I stopped now. You guys have really got better off the past weeks!”

“Well, now he ruined our almost-friendship.”

“Lily, I’m sure there’s an explanation,” Mandy said. “I mean – how can we be sure it was him who wrote that poem? Where’s the proof?”

Lily stared at her brown-haired friend. “He signed it! And he said he had written it! There’s your proof!”

“If you really want me to vomit all over you, I suppose I could,” Lily said grumpily.

Mandy didn’t answer, but she moved a bit away from Lily, so she and her plate were outside the danger zone.

“Lily!”

Lily just walked faster.

“Lily!”

Mandy took her arm, and made them go even faster

“Evans!”

Lily turned around to face James. He had followed her since she and Mandy had left the Great Hall, and now the three of them were standing in the hallway.

“What?” Lily said angrily.

“I just wanted to say…” James hesitated. “I mean – d’you really think I sent you that poem?”

Lily looked at him in disbelief. “It was signed! With your name! And you admitted you had written it!”

“Yeah, I admitted I had written a poem, but not that poem! How stupid d’you think I am? Sign with my name after all that rubbish? I’d never write such things about you. I thought you knew that! I didn’t write it, but I know who-”

“Give it a rest, will you?” Lily snarled, moving closer to him. “You’re just full of lies,” she hissed into his ear. “I honestly thought you’d become a tiny bit less immature this year, but obviously I was wrong. You’re even worse than before. You’re only a childish, perverted liar; that’s what you are.”

And with that, she left him.

James was stunned. He still felt her warm breath in his ear, although she was now walking away with Mandy.

“Wait!” he called, running. He grabbed Lily’s wrist.

“Let go of me!” she shouted.

“I didn’t write that poem, Lily, can’t you understand that?”

“You’re a childish, perverted liar,” she repeated coolly.

“I’m not! If you’d just listen to me –”

Lily tried to pull her hand away from James with all her might, but it was impossible. “Let go!” she shrieked.

“Fine!” James said, letting go of her wrist.

As Lily had done everything to try to get out of his grip, she fell backwards. Her head crashed with a wall.

Mandy gasped, and hurried to get to her aid.

“Lily!” James said, terrified.

He made a move to get closer, but Mandy made him stop. “Don’t,” she said quietly. “I think you've done enough damage, James.”

So he left them, looking hurt.

He was mad, but also a little sad. He actually had to force himself not to cry. Was that what she thought of him? She probably wouldn’t have thought that if she had believed him. She probably wouldn’t have thought that if he hadn’t tried to be so poetic. She probably wouldn’t have thought that if he hadn’t sent the card with that big, black owl that reminded him of a bat.

If he only could get his hands on that slimy Slytherin. But James hadn’t seen him all morning. He had even told Sirius, Remus and Peter to look for that greasy-haired bastard, but there were no results yet.